Monday, December 3, 2018

WASHINGTON (December 3, 2018) – The U.S. Department of Commerce’s
Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), is announcing grant awards
of nearly $2 million to four Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs). In June 2018, MBDA invited HBCUs to propose
projects that will achieve one or more of the following objectives:
increase their ability to compete for and receive Federal research and
development funds; establish partnerships with Federal laboratories and
other technology resources; increase Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Mathematics (STEM) entrepreneurship; and compete for Federal
contracts.

“Historically Black Colleges and Universities served as the catalyst
to creating the black middle class in America and will continue to be
the incubator for minority business talent, innovation, and leadership.
These important schools generate billions in economic impact annually
and are engines for job creation in their local economies across the
United States,” said MBDA National Director Henry Childs II. “These
grant awards will provide seed money for these institutions to pursue
innovative projects and to build more revenue-generating infrastructures
to better serve our nation’s future entrepreneurs and workforce.”

The HBCUs that received grant awards include:

Clark Atlanta University ($499,497) to develop a STEM
entrepreneurship curriculum that increases student interest in the
innovation economy at three Atlanta University Center Consortium
campuses.

Howard University ($359,891) to design a technical
support model for 11 HBCUs in the mid-Atlantic region to compete for
Federal research and development funds and leverage partnerships with
Federal laboratories.

South Carolina State University ($404,992) to launch regional training sessions for HBCUs to compete for Federal research and development funds.

Tougaloo College ($695,412) to establish a partnership
among multiple HBCUs, private companies, federal labs, and research
institutions to increase capacity for HBCUs to participate in federal
research and contracting opportunities.

These programs are part of the 2018 MBDA Broad Agency Announcement, a
new initiative this year. More than $13 million was awarded for 35
projects focused on Department of Commerce and MBDA priorities from
resources that increase disaster preparedness and relief to programs
that increase access to capital. For a full listing of MBDA’s 2018 grant
awards, visit www.mbda.gov/news.

About the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)

MBDA, www.mbda.gov,
is the only Federal agency dedicated to the growth and global
competitiveness of U.S. minority-owned businesses through the
mobilization and advancement of public and private sector programs,
policy, and research. Our services provide greater access to capital,
contracts, and markets and better equip minority-owned firms to create
jobs, build scale and capacity, increase revenues and expand regionally,
nationally and internationally.